Follow the Fader

The events of September 11 have definitely affected the way the tracks on the new
R.E.M. album sound, according to guitarist Peter Buck. There is a
discernible difference between the ones written before the tragedy, as he states, "the summer songs are
pretty poppy and uptempo, while the later ones are kind of dark and complex." The band
helped to work through some of their feelings surrounding the horrors of that date by
playing live a number of times in the days following the tragedies, "not so much to raise
money but more to focus on our own lives," Buck said, although money was indeed raised,
including a date where the band played their first show in 9 years in their hometown of
August, GA.

In other benefit-related news, UK rock greats The Who will play 2 dates at
London's famed Royal Albert Hall in February to benefit the Teenage Cancer Trust. The
gigs, being put together in part by Who frontman Roger Daltrey, will run
from February 5-9, with other nights being headlines by Oasis, former Wet Wet
Wet singer Marti Pellow and the last night featuring an amalgamation of stars,
including Paul Weller, Jimmy Page with Gary Moore and
Robert Plant and Strange Sensations. Sounds like some major old time a-rockin'
for a good cause, as a November 2000 Who benefit show in the US raised enough
money to build two cancer wards for teens.